Premature baby 13 weeks early described as a '˜miracle'

Emily McMahon was just 2lbs 3oz when she arrived 13 weeks early on December 17, 2016 at 1.08pm at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.

It wasn’t until a week before her due date – on March 9 – that mum Jillian Walton (34) and dad Chris McMahon (32) were eventually able to bring her home from Forth Valley Royal.

Jillian, of Albert Avenue, Grangemouth, said: “We still cannot believe she is here, it’s such a relief after what she has gone through.”

Jillian, an orthopaedic nurse in the hospital where her daughter was born, started to sense something was not right when she felt pains in her stomach.

She initially thought it was something she had eaten.

But eventually at 5am she went with Chris, who manages a branch of Ladbrokes, to the Larbert hospital, where it was discovered she was in labour and after further tests she was transferred to Glasgow.

After five hours in labour Emily was born.

Jillian said: “She was tiny, we’ve got her wee hat that she first wore and you could put a wee satsuma orange in it.

“I was in shock I couldn’t believe she was so early. I never knew anything about premature babies or what it entails so it was hard to see her covered in tubes.

“It was difficult not being able to hold her and having to leave her every evening.”

She added: “You see so many babies and because they are all hooked up to the alarms, the alarms are going off and you think, ‘oh my God’ but she’s fought through.

Jillian says Emily, who is now three months old, is thriving and is enjoying being at home with her older brother Declan (8).

She is still on oxygen to help develop her lungs, Jillian said: “The only wee blip that she had was a wee ear infection but apart from that she’s been absolutely fine. She’s a wee fighter.

“She goes back in six weeks to get checked and she’s putting on weight now she’s 8lbs 11oz.”

Jillian added: “The whole family is delighted. My sister Angela (30) has come over from New Zealand and she’s been dying to see her.

“And my Mum Maureen had her 60th birthday on Tuesday and said it is the best birthday present ever to get her home.

“She’s a strong baby. She’s a wee star – a wee miracle that’s what we call her.”